Regularisation policy crashes property rates

With only 17 out of nearly 2,400 unauthorised colonies in Ludhiana regularised for the past more than one year, the real estate sector in the city has taken a nosedive as the property prices in many parts of the city have come down heavily.

With only 17 out of nearly 2,400 unauthorised colonies in Ludhiana regularised for the past more than one year, the real estate sector in the city has taken a nosedive as the property prices in many parts of the city have come down heavily.

The prices of property in different areas of the city have witnessed a dip of at least 15-25%. The decline in prices started last year when the regularisation policy was first introduced by the government. The same policy was again rolled out this year that further made a dent on the real estate.

The major blow to the investors and colonisers has come as the municipal corporation or Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) do not provide a no-objection certificate in the absence of regularisation receipt for plots.

However, the norms of the policy are so stringent that the MC has regularised only nine colonies for the past one year against 108 applications submitted with it.

Officials dealing with regularisation claim that absence of proper documents with colonisers had resulted in non-regularisation of their colonies. On the other hand, GLADA had regularised only eight colonies so far.

Most of the areas within the city have witnessed a decline in property deals as property agents fume over the regularisation policy started on October 28 this year. Last year, the policy was initiated in April.

Parminder Singh, a property dealer, said properties in Ludhiana have witnessed a decline of at least 15-25% in different areas depending on the location. "There have been only few deals of properties this year as a result revenue to the state government has also decreased," he added.

He said cost of properties in different areas had decreased from at least Rs 5,000 per square yard to Rs 10,000 per square yard that was a major blow to the real estate.

Most of the businessmen in Ludhiana had invested in property expecting gains in the future. However, even the local industry was at present struggling to come out of the financial slump that has locked their finances in real estate. There are at least 300 unauthorised colonies under the MC and at least 2,000 colonies under GLADA in Ludhiana district.

Dhandra road, Chandigarh road, Mullanpur among other areas where several colonies that were worst hit due to the downfall in real estate.

President, Punjab coloniser and property builder association, Kultar Singh Jogi said people have lost interest in buying property due to the panic caused by regularisation policy.

He raised a point that even farmers have lost their earnings due to slump in real estate. "Farmers used to sell their extra land in heavy price to colonisers. But now in the absence of coming up of new colonies, farmers are also suffering," said Jogi.

Officialspeak

Though 24,000 plots have been regularised so far, only nine colonies were regularised out of the total 108 that applied.

Rajiv Saggar, MC's nodal officer for regularisation policy

As many as 1,100 colonisers applied for regularisation, but only eight have been regularised so far.